Resource Efficiency

What is it?

Adopted on 20 September 2011, the Commission’s Resource Efficiency Roadmap sets out the foundation to move towards a global economic transformation by improving the efficiency of use of all resources (from raw materials to energy, water, air, land and soil) and achieving a low carbon economy in the future decades. As part of the Europe 2020 strategy for more sustainable growth, the resource efficiency initiative suggests several actions such as:

Developing resource efficiency indicators in order to assess and measure EU Resource Efficiency policy in environmental but also economic terms.

Establishing an environmental footprint methodology to evaluate the environmental performance of products, services and companies.

Expanding the scope of the Eco design Directive beyond energy related products and including material aspects in implementing measures.

Why is it important?

Resource efficiency is a strategic issue for the competitiveness of European engineering companies and represents an indispensable economic necessity for Orgalime industries. Indeed, our manufacturing activities require many (strategic) raw materials and resources, such as energy, chemicals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, minerals, plastics and rare earths. In addition, many of the resource efficiency policy actions envisaged by the Commission directly tie in with many of Orgalime`s core policy issues, notably the Eco design, WEEE and RoHS Directives and the REACH Regulation, thereby putting at risk consistency and coherence with other existing EU legislation.

Our viewpoint

While we are committed to the sustainable management of resources and the constant environmental improvement of our own production processes and products that are placed on the market, Orgalime industries take the view that it is of utmost importance for the European engineering industries, that continuous and competitive access to international raw materials market should be improved, especially through the promotion of free trade of raw materials at an international level. We also address in particular the link of resource efficiency initiatives with other EU legislation and raise the concern of possible negative impacts on our industry´s investment made for the implementation of the Eco Design and WEEE Directives.

How we’ve been engaged

From the beginning Orgalime has been actively involved in the resource efficiency debate both on a Commission and Parliamentary level. Our views have been widely expressed in position papers. We also continuously contribute to different stakeholders’ consultations and preparatory studies and we are participating in regular meetings, organised by Commission representatives.